A New Target for Old Spies: Congress

There was dark talk of treason at an annual gathering of spooks in Washington, D.C., over Congress’ refusal to honor the World War II generation—but also word of a behind-the-scenes plot to save the measure.

“I think we’ve found a new target to blow up,” joked Charles Pinck of the Republican House leadership’s refusal to pass a bill that would award all members of the OSS a Congressional Gold Medal. Pinck is president of the Office of Strategic Services Society, and son of a former member of the OSS.

The OSS was established in 1942 to send daring American agents behind enemy lines, to rescue soldiers, sabotage enemy craft, conduct disinformation, or whatever mission would help the allied effort, no matter how creative or quite frankly insane some of their missions sounded. The foundation built by those agents later gave rise to today’s CIA and U.S. Special Operations Command.